Trump ‘Deserves Respect’, Still Wrong on Muslim Ban Proposal - Cameron

The only US Republican Party presidential candidate Donald Trump deserves respect for going through the nominating process but remains wrong on his anti-Muslim policy, British Prime Minister David Cameron said Thursday.

LONDON (Sputnik) – In a mid-December reaction to Trump’s call for a complete ban on all Muslims from entering the United States until the establishment of a counterterror plan, Cameron derided the idea as "divisive, stupid and wrong."

Following his latest string of victories in primaries and the successive campaign suspensions by two remaining rivals, billionaire real estate mogul Trump is on a clear path to secure the Republican nomination in the presidential race.

"Knowing the grueling nature of the primaries and what you have to go through, anyone who makes it through that extraordinary contest, leads the party into a general election, you know, certainly deserves our respect," Cameron said at a televised press conference.

Asked whether he would like to retract his December 16 statement, Cameron maintained that Trump’s policy proposal to ban Muslims from entering the US "is wrong, was wrong, and will remain wrong."

The British press reported late on Wednesday that Trump is "likely" to visit London in August for a Republican fundraising drive, where he is expected to meet opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn. Downing Street said this week Cameron would not withdraw his comments about Trump.

A petition to ban Trump from entering the United Kingdom that gathered more than the 100,000 signatures needed for parliamentary review was rejected on grounds that the ban would fuel media attention garnered by the presumptive nominee and his controversial remarks.